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I do a lot of matchmaking or introduction brokering in my business. If you tell me what you do or what your need is and I know someone who does something complementary or who has the ability to meet that need, I'm usually happy to connect the two of you. Likewise, I'm often inclined to pass along info on relevant opportunities that comes across my desk if I think it might be of use to you. I don't help everyone I meet and I'm selective about the people that I'd go out of my way to help on a recurring basis - although professional matchmaking is still less fraught with second-guessing than the romantic variety. There's actually an etiquette around accepting help that, once you understand it, makes you much more "helpable" in the eyes of those who can give you a career boost. Here's what you need to know:

Say thank you

No, really. It's that simple, but not everyone does it. I had a startup founder come up to me at an event the other night to thank me for an introduction I'd made for him recently and tell me how fruitful that connection had been. He'd already thanked me by email, but the fact that he sought me out in person made a great impression. If this guy and his company need something in the future, I'm already primed to help. As a young business owner myself, my policy is never to say no to a coffee invite, an intro or some unsolicited intel. It might not all be immediately useful, but being open to aid and expressing sincere gratitude when it's offered helps build relationships, gives me outside perspective to which I otherwise wouldn't have access and leads to a domino effect of introductions and connections that are well worth an hour of your time and the price of a latte. The only time I've regretted investing in the latter has been when the barista serves my chai unsweetened. Maybe a given conversation won't yield anything useful, but being appreciative of someone's time and attention nonetheless makes a lasting impression and moves you to the top of their "to help" list the next time a more relevant opportunity pops up.

Follow up

A colleague and I were discussing an incident in which she had offered to put a young woman interested in fashion merchandising in touch with someone in her network who was hiring in this field. The young woman seemed eager, but after promising to email my friend the next day, she never bothered to follow up. Even if she landed another job or had a change of heart, there was no excuse not to reach out to graciously decline the intro if it was no longer relevant. Anything short of being mauled by a tiger or falling under a bus on the way home from the event isn't going to wash as an excuse. I've talked with a number of rookie entrepreneurs who have been ambivalent about offers of aid they've received because they've convinced themselves that the power player extending the offer was just being nice or making conversation and didn't really expect the offer to be taken seriously. Don't go there. Your job isn't to parse the motivation or dissect the sincerity of the golden networking opportunity at your feet. Assume that if the words, "I'd be happy to introduce you to my godfather, Richard Branson" are coming out of someone's mouth that they don't have an uncontrollable case of small talk Tourette's and that they are indeed making this offer of their own free will. And for God's sake, take them up on it.

Keep communicating

If someone gives you a hand up and it goes well, let them know about it. I once forwarded a professional colleague a contact name and email at another publication. She turned this scrap of info into a TV appearance and sent me an email with a link to the segment. Now, I hesitate for all of 0.31 seconds when anything comes across my desk that I think would be useful to her business, because I know whatever info I pass her way, she'll run with it and spin it into gold. Because she kept me in the loop with regards to her success, I have no doubts about her business chops and I'm more invested in helping her in the future.